On moody ballad Haunted, Beyoncé’s voice floats tightly atop a breathlessly exciting backdrop which oscillates between simple piano and pounding synths, typical of an album where the production is frequently astonishing. Indeed, if this year saw Miley Cyrus,Justin Timberlake and Robin Thicke hit big with their appropriations of R&B, Beyoncé seems to lay the smack down: this is how it’s done. On the Prince-ly slow jam of Rocket, Beyoncé even sings “you’re the shit, that makes you my equivalent”, a pointed steal (or re-appropriation) from Thicke’s When I Get You Alone.

So, when all is said and done, it was actually pretty easy to review this. Cos it’s very very good.